The city of Greensburg, Kan., has rebounded from a devastating tornado by embracing sustainability as its new model.

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Sustainability and the environment were the furthest things from Greensburg, Kan., Mayor Bob Dixson’s mind on the morning of May 5, 2007. The night before, an F5-class tornado measuring 1.7 miles wide came straight through the center of the town and leveled it, killing 11 people, completely destroying almost every home, business and public building, and severely damaging what was left.

“We had about a 20-minute warning, so people were able to take cover and be able to batten down the hatches, per se,” Dixson says. “In the midst of all that, when it was all done and we came out of our basements, quite frankly it looked like a bomb had just gone off.”

The tornado left a swath of destruction in its wake, destroying every landmark in the town of 1,400 that was founded in the 1880s and serves as the Kiowa County seat. However, the tornado also left behind a blank canvas that quickly became an opportunity for the town to rebuild itself into a model community for the future of American life and business.

“We had the opportunity to paint on that canvas what we wanted to paint on it,” Dixson says.
The night after the tornado struck, Greensburg officials met with state and federal representatives to discuss recovery. During that discussion, the town’s name inspired many of the officials to think about rebuilding it as an example of green living and working. Dixson says the town decided that it would rebuild to make the new Greensburg one of the nation’s most environmentally friendly communities. Like the settlers who tamed the plains more than a century before, Greensburg would be blazing a new trail.

“We had the chance to be pioneers for the 21st century,” Dixson says. “We have been tremendously blessed in the midst of the disaster with the opportunity to rebuild back as sustainable as we can.”

Today, almost half of the town’s buildings have been rebuilt in new, eco-friendly forms, a few of which have received LEED certification. Greensburg is close to reaching its population level of about 1,400 from before the tornado, and Dixson says the town also has attracted its share of “eco-tourists” curious to see how it has put its goals into practice.

“It’s like a living laboratory of different architectural designs, different building materials, different energy-saving techniques,” he says.

Green From the Start
Greensburg’s goal of becoming a completely sustainable community required a change in thinking from everyone, Dixson says. “The No. 1 thing we started out with from square one was the educational process when people were planning before they ever started on their homes,” he says.

For the contractors who would be performing much of the work, the town established a memorandum of understanding with the Kansas Homebuilders Association that outlined the community’s goals.

Dixson says the organization saw Greensburg as an opportunity to educate its members about the practical application of green building techniques. Once the planning process began, Dixson says he was surprised to find out how much of the green philosophy was already familiar to him based on his background growing up in an agricultural community. “What my grandparents and parents taught me was that if you take care of the land, the land will take care of you,” he says. “They had the original green and sustainable concepts because they lived on what they had available.”

Area residents and business owners formed a nonprofit organization called Greensburg GreenTown to help guide the town through the rebuilding process and keep it focused on sustainability. The town developed a sustainable master plan that included, among many other provisions, that all public buildings larger than 4,000 square feet are supposed to be built to LEED platinum specifications.

The town believes living up to these standards will not only make Greens­burg a better steward of its resources, but also a better place for business. “Many new businesses exist that can feed the vision of a sustainable rural town, and the communities that embrace new market opportunities will lead their peers,” according to the town’s comprehensive master plan. “By developing new sustainable materials and technologies, rural communities also have the potential to attract scientific researchers and entrepreneurial manufacturers.”

Platinum Projects
The town’s efforts have begun to take shape, as a number of notable projects have already been completed or gotten underway. One of the most visible projects is the Chain of Eco-Homes, a series of 12 model homes that will serve as a living promotional kit for the town and sustainable construction.

Each of the 12 model homes is different, and each features a variety of building techniques, energy-efficient features and green building products. For example, the first of the 12 homes to be built was a concrete silo-shaped home that used concrete recycled from debris left from the tornado. Architecture students from the University of Colorado are designing another of the homes.

Another completed project, the 5.4.7. Arts Center, is a community art center built by a nonprofit organization that has achieved LEED platinum status, one of three buildings in Greensburg to accomplish that to date. Among the sustainable features found in the building are a geothermal heat pump, solar panels and gutters that collect rain for irrigation.

The town’s John Deere dealership, completed in January 2009, also received LEED platinum certification. According to Greensburg GreenTown, the building is fully lit during the day by three dozen skylights in the service shop and retail space. Hot water is provided by a waste oil boiler that uses oil left over from tractor maintenance and a natural gas boiler. In addition, electricity is generated by two wind turbines.

The third LEED platinum project in Greensburg to date is the Prairie Point Townhomes development, a multi-unit residential rental property that was built on the site of the town’s old high school. The units feature energy-saving amenities such as compact fluorescent lights, low-flow plumbing fixtures and high-efficiency heat pumps.

Lasting Legacy
Rebuilding Greensburg as a model of the sustainable community of the future has been an arduous process, but Dixson says the town and its supporters have forged ahead thanks to the desire to create a new legacy. That desire has inspired many to lend their efforts to the reconstruction.

“We wouldn’t have accomplished what we’ve accomplished if it hadn’t been for the number of volunteers we’ve gotten from around the world,” he says.

“We can’t say ‘thanks’ enough to all the businesses and people who have come and helped,” he adds.
Dixson goes on to say that he hopes Greensburg will serve as an example to future generations not just for its resiliency, but for its commitment to sustainable living, as well. He says he hopes history will reflect well on Greensburg.

“Quite frankly, I would like to see at the end of the century that people are going to ask the question, ‘What did the people at the start of this century do for the future?’” Dixson says. “I’d like to have them say there was a town of resilient people who said they wanted to make a difference. It’s become more than just talk now.”